Description
The Director, Research & Evaluation Services provides leadership for the development and delivery of National University’s externally facing research, evaluation, and advisory services. This role is responsible for growing and sustaining a portfolio of client engagements that advance both institutional priorities and community impact.
Working closely with University leadership and external partners, the Director shapes service offerings, guides project design and delivery, and supports the long-term success of a scalable professional services model. The role combines strategic thinking, client engagement, project scoping and applied research expertise, with flexibility to adapt approaches across diverse contexts and partner needs.
Service Development & Engagement Leadership
- Collaborates with partners to understand needs and shape appropriate research, evaluation, or advisory solutions.
- Develops scopes of work, proposals, and engagement strategies.
- Supports the evolution of service offerings and delivery models over time.
Portfolio Oversight & Delivery
- Provides oversight across multiple projects or engagements.
- Ensures high-quality, timely delivery of work products.
- Coordinates internal contributors and external partners to achieve project goals.
- Tracks expenditures, staffing costs, and contribution margins.
- Monitors contract performance, resource utilization, and delivery risk.
Client & Partner Relationships
- Builds and maintains strong relationships with external clients and community partners.
- Serves as a trusted advisor and point of contact across engagements.
- Supports efforts to expand partnerships and opportunities over time.
Strategy & Growth
- Contributes to the growth and sustainability of the professional services portfolio.
- Identifies opportunities to expand reach, impact, and revenue.
- Provides input into positioning, partnerships, and long-term development of the service model.
People & Collaboration
- Works collaboratively with faculty, staff, and other contributors to support project delivery.
- Contributes to building a strong network of internal talent.
- Fosters a culture of quality, learning, and continuous improvement.
- Performs other duties as assigned.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
Responsibility for recruiting, coordinating, and ensuring quality work is provided by internal faculty, staff, and student contributors on contracted projects. The role also supports the development and readiness of our internal talent through training, guidance, and ongoing coaching. As the business grows, supervisory responsibilities may expand.
Requirements
Education & Experience:
- Master’s degree required in a relevant field, Doctoral degree preferred
- Eight plus (8+) years of experience in professional research, evaluation, and consulting
- Demonstrated experience in scoping, proposal development, and client negotiations
- Proven ability to manage multi-project portfolios
- Supervisory or team leadership experience in applied or project-based environments
- Experience within the higher-education industry preferred
Competencies/Technical/Functional Skills:
- Synthesizes complex information, anticipates client needs, and guides decisionmaking with sound judgment and strategic insight.
- Builds trust and communicates effectively across diverse stakeholders.
- Manages multiple priorities and drives work forward.
- Strong command of research design, program evaluation models, and quantitative/qualitative methods.
- Applies research and evaluation concepts appropriately in real-world contexts.
- Works effectively across organizational boundaries.
- Understands financial drivers, pricing logic, and cost modeling to support sustainable, datainformed recommendations.
- Identifies opportunities to enhance processes, scalability, and service delivery; proactively recommends improvements.
- Ability to recruit, develop, and manage diverse contributors.
- Demonstrates responsiveness, reliability, and a solutionsfocused approach.
- Communicates complex or technical concepts clearly to nontechnical stakeholders, including senior leaders.
- Demonstrates maturity, tact, and strong interpersonal skills in sensitive or highstakes situations.
Physical Demands/Environment:
Sedentary work. Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects. The worker is required to have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as preparing and analyzing data and figures and viewing a computer terminal. The work is performed in an office environment.
Travel: up to 20% travel
